festive lights

tacky be the theme this year, methinks.

with thanks

family. friends. (really good food.)

undeserved blessings.

welcome mercies.

it's been a busy year. my cup overflows with gladness.

playthings

A's favorite toy, with toothmarks. it's the cats' pretend bird.

her other favorite toys: the cats' carrot. the cats' fish. the cats' bone.

there is clearly a pattern here.

the cats, on the other hand, are enamored of A's mobile.

unwelcome scene

US airport parking lots always fill me with desolation. much like strip malls with their cookie cutter big box stores. i suspect an amalgamation of E.T. coming-of-age immigrant-written novels (a free life by ha jin) and (quite simply) unimaginative-architecture-meets-overactive-imagination.

LAX

breakfast at 5 AM. because jet lag. this is the land of bacon.

also, inflation is real and painful.

what you are looking for is in the library - aoyama (2023)

gentle restrained prose tossing around rather deep ideas spanning the gamut of ages in five short stories that are actually intertwined in a microcosm of the life the book is about. 

the librarian is this mysterious quasi-yoda character and the five protagonists with their struggles are realistic and likable to boot.

this continues the streak of compelling reads from asian writers.

oops

we excitedly pack for the big trip to visit J1 J2 Yi Ji and A! on the other side of the world! after waiting a whole half year for it! there is something deliciously delightful and gloriously gladsome about putting out the clothes the gifts the toiletries and the emotional support books and stuffing them into the suitcases.

except we forget to put in the cold weather gear as well and have to sheepishly repack.

spotted in the 'eartlands

it looks like them dinky cellphone battery life support networks have arrived on our fair shores. yes!

staycation surprises

for an eleventh hour trip we've certainly had some nice unplanned outcomes.

the most serendipitous being the successful installation (finally) of the VEP tag. unexpectedly and most efficiently.

the side trip to the outlet mall counts too. pleasant interlude from the sudden shower and most productive from a retail therapy viewpoint.

and certainly the impulse extension at a different hotel, just because. 

being of a certain age and being semi-retired have benefits.

(almost) staycating

on the one hand there are bucket lists stars in the eyes and loftily aspirational plans. like the camino de santiago or the green fields of ireland or the west lakes.

on the other hand there is a quick drive across the causeway for a couple days away from the madding crowd. add in the rain and clouds we are having and it feels like a colder season too, only without the layers. just as good for the soul.

if you live to 100 - rhee kun hoo (2014)

restrained self-deprecating down-to-earth and quite devastatingly wise. i may not fully agree with his philosophy of life and fate but that in no way detracts from his incisiveness and charm.

he writes about his life his children his wife his work his days.

of his children, he says that it is more important to live fully as good examples than to try to ace the parenting act that we are amateurs at in any case.

of his wife, he writes a tender paean to the woman who threw in her lot with him and stuck by him through debt imprisonment and more. of one mind, of one heart. about whom else could i ever say that?

of his work, he has poured himself fully and he talks about the satisfaction of doing hard work well, rather than about work-life-balance.

of his days, he says that life is a story you should read till the very last page. how unexpected from an 87-year-old! that is to say, i unabashedly pronounce this a SMASHING READ.

in awe, really

i have started reading the english bible aloud! the 87-year-old woman reports. i look up the words i don't understand and i check their pronunciation. but i skipped the so-and-so begetting so-and-so bits. i am amazed not least because english is her second language.

i made this for you, my 80-year-old patient says. i figured out how to crochet it from youtube videos.

the 93-year-old gentleman hobbles his bent frame into the room. how have you been? i ask. oh he is busy supervising the help at home, his daughter says as he gives me his impishly toothy grin.

when i am your age, i tell them, i want to be like you. on high heels.

taking stock

A has arrived safely and is thriving. HOM's trips have been taken and he is home. his mom's house move is done with, as are the utilities the furniture purchases the TV set-up the roster and much more. O has had her home trip and we have learnt to do housework again. my key tasks are over, namely the three exams. as is my formal life of being employed. the various bodily challenges continue unabated.

the year is exhilaratingly thrillingly and finally winding down. bring it on, thanksgiving!

daisies

O brings these pretty ladies home.

pressing question: do we remove the plastic casing or do we leave it on?

watching the election*

flawed and ineffective

bluster and bluff

untruths and prevarications

sound bites and corporate-speak. particularly corporate speak

glad it wasn't mine to choose. one merely looks on in helpless horrified wonderment.

*2024 US elections

roll call

• my wrist (overuse syndrome)
• HOM's knee (meniscal injury)
• my skin (urticaria going on chronic now)
• J1's shoulder (sprain, i believe), and even
• A's collar bone (healing pretty swiftly, thankfully)

we are looking like a most anatomically energetic family, is wot i say.